The present invention relates generally to a beater apparatus and more particularly to a double-strike percussion instrument beater apparatus adapted to strike a surface twice in response to each cycle of a foot operated pedal.
Typical prior art foot-activated instrument striking mechanisms provide one strike for each complete cycle of a foot pedal. Accordingly, for a musician to effect a particular frequency of, for example, drum beats, he must cycle the drum pedal at an equal frequency. The frequency of drum beats obtainable is thus limited by the speed with which the musician can cycle the foot pedal. The present invention comprises a mechanism which effectively overcomes this limitation by permitting the musician to obtain multiple beats for each cycle of the foot pedal.
In the prior art, several foot-actuated drum beaters which provide multiple beats per cycle of a foot pedal have been proposed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,441 to Fearns discloses a double acting base drum pedal mechanism wherein a beater is mounted on a horizontal shaft with an arm extending downwardly from the shaft and offset from the rotary axis thereof. A pedal having a centralized pivot point is mounted adjacent the beater shaft and a flexible strip connects the downwardly extending arm of the shaft to the toe of the pedal so that rocking of the pedal in either direction will rotate the shaft and cause the beater to strike a drum head. Positive control over the beater shaft movement is possible only in the direction of the drum head and a spring must be used to return the beater shaft to a neutral position. Furthermore, the use of a central pivot point for the pedal results in an awkward and uncomfortable foot position for actuation of the beater mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,853 to Bills discloses a double acting drum beater device having a beater adapted to strike an adjacent drum head once for each downward movement of a foot operated pedal and then a second time for each upward movement of the Pedal. The mechanism provides for positive control over the movement of the beater shaft in the direction of the drum head and in the reverse direction. The drum beater is mounted on a rotatable horizontal shaft and the toe of the foot pedal is connected to the shaft through a linkage. The linkage is designed such that the shaft will rotate and cause the beater to strike a drum head once during downward movement of the toe Portion of the pedal and once during upward motion of the toe portion of the pedal. A toe clip is provided for enabling the user to cause the drum beater to strike the drum head with the desired force on the upswing of the toe portion of the pedal. This device necessitates the use of an intricate multiple linkage for effecting both beats during the cycle of the foot pedal. Furthermore, the use of a toe clip is necessitated for delivering a second beat having the desired power level.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved device for causing multiple beats of a percussion instrument per cycle of a foot pedal.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved device which does not require the use of intricate or fragile linkages between a foot pedal and a rotary shaft supporting a beater.
It is yet another object to provide a device yielding two beats of an instrument for each cycle of a foot pedal, each beat effected with a controllable force.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved device for effecting two beats of a surface per cycle of a foot pedal, wherein the user's foot may be comfortably supported in an operable position without the need for clips or straps.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained in the provision of a device which delivers two beats of a Percussion instrument per one cycle of a foot pedal by employing a simple linkage between the pedal and the beater for one beat during the cycle and which employs a simple cam mechanism for delivering another beat during the cycle. More specifically, the subject device comprises pedal means pivotally mounted on a base, and a beater shaft pivotally mounted independently of the Pedal near one end of the pedal. The beater shaft may have an end structure in the form of a mallet or head for the purpose of effecting a desirable beat sound.
For the purpose of providing a first strike of the drum, a linkage is employed to connect one end of the pedal with an arm extension which is offset from the axis of the rotatable shaft. The linkage is designed such that it allows positive drive of the rotatable shaft when the pedal is pivoted in one direction and non-positive drive when the pedal is rotated in a second direction, opposite the first direction. For the purpose of providing a second strike of the drum, cam means are mounted on the pedal at a point adjacent the end exhibiting the linkage. Cam contacting means are offset from the axis of the rotatable shaft and alignable with the cam means located on the pedal. The rotatable shaft is positioned such that downward motion of the end of the pedal containing linkage caused by rotation of the pedal about its axis of rotation will in turn cause the beater shaft, connected to the pedal through the linkage, to rotate about the axis of the horizontal shaft and strike a surface positioned adjacent the assembly. Subsequently, rotation of the pedal about its rotational axis in a manner which causes the end of the pedal containing the linkage to move upward, causes the cam means mounted on the pedal to abruptly contact the cam contacting means associated with the beater shaft. This contact in turn causes the beater shaft to be swiftly rotated about the horizontal shaft, thereby causing the beater shaft to again strike the adjacent surface. Therefore, rotation of the pedal in one rotational direction followed by rotation of the pedal in the opposite rotational direction, i.e., one complete cycle of the foot pedal causes the beater shaft to strike an adjacent percussion instrument surface twice in rapid succession.
Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.